One way or the other, we were always going to end up in Café Fürst. The only surprise was that we only did so on the final morning of our four-day stay in Salzburg.

Although my three-year-old has been falling asleep to Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 21 in C (K.467) and even calls out "sleepy time" when hearing the music in public, she thinks Mozart is only half a word. The missing part is Kugeln, German for balls. Mozart Balls are marvelous round chocolates with a pistachio and nougat filling. After Mozart himself, it is probably the most famous export from Salzburg.

Mozartkugeln are not found as such in nature – someone must have thought it up and produced it. It was not the favorite chocolate of the Mozart either, nor of his wife, who apparently had a bit of a sweet tooth. Mozartkugeln were invented in 1890 by Konditorei Fürst. Even today, recipes cannot be copyrighted and back then trademark registration was not as advanced as today where the generally squarish thing in walls that allows light through but keep wind and weather out has been elevated to a very profitable registered trademark. As a result, Mozartkugeln were soon copied and are now made by various manufacturers in the German-speaking world.

Given the amount of advertising that Mirabelle is doing in Salzburg, one would be forgiven for thinking the idea belonged to them. Although Mirabelle’s Kugeln taste just fine, and I often buy them myself, I just had to try the original. In addition, Fürst is one of only two manufacturers who still produce the balls mostly by hand. Fürst’s Kugeln have a slightly thicker chocolate outside, which is harder than that of the competition to give a better balance between the harder shell and the wonderful softer filling. In addition, they are also slightly bigger than the competition. Naturally, they are slightly pricier but not by much and well worth it.

When visiting Café Fürst, we opted to sit almost inside the shop, where a small number of tables was available. A larger café area is deeper inside the building, but this area seemed a bit too smokey, and in any case, being surrounded by chocolates was always going to be the more desirable option. We ordered a standard European breakfast of bread rolls, cheese and jellies, and coffee. Everything tasted great, and service was surprisingly fast and friendly. The toddler even received a Mozartkugel from the staff – presumably for good behavior, which I thought jolly unfair, as I did not shout, run around, or lick my knife either during the meal.

Even without feeling the need to pay homage to Fürst for its major contribution to the gastronomical world, Café Fürst is a very pleasant place. The Konditorei sells a large selection of dainty cakes and pralines but the blue and silver wrapped Mozartkugeln are the natural choice and worth the splurge.